A Century Later: 1909-2009

By Duncan

 

1909/2009 in Brigus (click on image to switch between years)

My great-grandfather started shooting with a film camera around the time of his marriage in 1909 to Elizabeth Bartlett of Brigus. A century after this photo was taken of him, I returned to Brigus and convinced my girlfriend to grab a shot of me in the same place, posing in the same way. Click to switch between 1909/2009. I was pretty amazed that the same rock hasn't moved all that much on the beach in Brigus.

1909/2009 in Brigus (click on image to switch between years)

I'm really struck in this shot at how little the rock has changed. All of the physical features are the same - most of the difference is the lichen on the rocks and vegetation. I'm also a little impressed that he was able to clamber over the rocks with a tripod and camera gear. Photo: Sarah Hurley.

1909(?)/2009 in Brigus (click on image to switch between years)

A century ago, Hawthorne Cottage was the Bartlett family home. In 2009, it's a National Historic Site that's open to the public. What's even more surprising is how little it's changed. There's a new lamp on the mantle, the table's changed position, but it's without a doubt the same room.

1909(?)/2009 in Brigus (click on image to switch between years)

The roads are still in the same place, though my angle is off - I found it rather difficult to find the right location as the trees have really changed pretty dramatically.

1909?/2009 Unkown Lighthouse/Brigus Lighthouse

I'm not quite sure where this lighthouse is. I was convinced it was the Brigus Lighthouse, however, I've since discovered it was constructed in 1885 - which means that the photo of my great-grandfather definitely doesn't show the Brigus Lighthouse. That explains why I couldn't find the same rock...

1909/2009: Brigus, Newfoundland (click on image to switch between years)

I was amazed to find how much remained. What was a road in 1909 is still a trail, and what was a rock wall is now a crumbled rock wall. The town hasn't changed much from this perspective, but the biggest differences are the trees.

1929/2009: St. Paul's Cathedral, London (click on image to switch between years)

Not quite the perfect position, but I definitely stood in the same area of road as my grandfather did 84 years prior. The view is largely the same. It's a crosswalk today, and while I had hoped for a modern double-decker bus to stop in the same position, chance intervened - the road was closed for a bike race the day I took the 2009 shot. My grandfather had gone across the pond for a visit to the 1929 world Jamboree.

1909/2009: Windsor Castle/Tower of London

Memory failed me on this photo: I looked at the photo and thought that it was without a doubt the entrance to the Tower of London. But when I arrived at the Tower, it was very clearly not the right location. Some internet research has turned up the actual location- Henry VII Gate at Windsor Castle.

1909(?)/2009: St. John's Harbour

The line of the Southside Hills is very much the same, and while there aren't many sailboats in St. John's Harbour today, there are certainly still boats... though a whole lot less since the cod moratorium of 1992.

1929/2009: Trafalgar Square, London

I was a little amazed to find that no building in Trafalgar Square matched the one in the photo my grandfather took at the world Jamboree in 1929. All of the columns I found in Trafalgar Square were either of a different shape then the ones in my grandfather's photo, or lacked steps beneath them. Canada House has square columns. The National Gallery has different bases, and the fluting is spaced different. St. Martin's (pictured in foreground of present day photo) lacks fluting, though the bottom of the columns seems to be a better match. And then there's the positioning of the statue of King George IV on a horse. Has the statue changed position since 1929? (If you have some more insight on these questions, please get in touch. My current theory is that the building in the foreground no longer exists, and was either demolished like the hotel formerly at the site of South Africa House, built during the 1930s. My backup theory is that the structure in the 1929 photo was bombed during the Blitz, and rebuilt in a different architectural style.

St. John's: 1909(?)/2010 (click on image to switch between years)

There are two landmarks that made it possible to take this shot from the same location - St. Patrick's Church in the dead middle of the shot, the shape of the St. John's Basilica on the horizon, now obscured by trees. The harbour and Waterford Valley have been completely developed, and look radically different today. The road has moved into the hill a bit more, with the addition of a retaining wall.